Cardiologist to be sentenced for record $19M fraud

NEWARK (AP) — A cardiologist with offices in New York City and New Jersey is due to be sentenced for taking part in a scheme that subjected thousands of patients to unnecessary tests and treatment and resulted in $19 million in bogus bills.

Federal prosecutors say Jose Katz of Closter is scheduled to appear Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Newark. The 68-year-old physician pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and an unrelated count of Social Security fraud for giving his wife a longtime no-show job, making her eligible for Social Security.

Authorities have said this appears to be the largest case of health care fraud ever committed by a practitioner in either state.